World of Wonder

Manchu China

The Great Wall of China is the more than 4,000 miles long. It is the longest man-made structure in the world and the only one that can be seen from space.

Emperor Yongzheng

The scepter at right was a gift from the French to Emperor Qianlong.

Opium poppy

Manchu China

Emperor Qianlong

During the Qing Dynasty, China extended it's borders farther than ever before. Commerce and industry enjoyed rapid growth, and the population rose from 150 million in 1700 to more than 400 million by 1850.

Tibet

Mongolia

Korea

Manchu

(Qing)

China

Russian Empire

India

Burma

Japan

Taiwan

Hong Kong

Beijing

Border of present-day China

Shunzhi (16441661)

Kangxi (16611722)

Yongzheng (17221735)

Qianlong (17351796)

Jiaqing (17961820)

Daoguang (18201850)

Xianfeng (18501861)

Tongzhi (18611875)

Guangxu (18751908)

Xuantong (19081911/12)

Qing emperors

In 1644, a Ming general sought an alliancewith the northern Manchus in an effort to subdue a peasant rebellion in the capital of Beijing (also known as Peking). The rebellion was successfully put down, but the Manchurians took advantage of the situation and captured the city for themselves. By 1683, they controlled all of China.

Invasion

Rebellion and war

China was not very interested in trade with Europe. But Europe was very interested in trade with China. As a result, China exported large amounts of tea, silk and porcelain to the West, but it did not import much. Selling opium was one way the European merchants balanced their trade.

Western conflicts

Opium is a highly addictive drug made from poppies. In 1729 the use and sale of opium was banned. Opium smuggling became big business, with most of the drug coming from India on British ships. In 1839, Chinese officials seized 20,000 chests of opium from British merchants in Guangzhou. This resulted in the Opium Wars. Britain's gunboats defeated the Chinese. The war ended with the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. The Treaty of Nanjing gave Hong Kong to the United Kingdom and opened five Chinese ports to Britishresidence and trade.

Opium wars

By the turn of the century, several secret societies had formed to fight Western influences. Boxers were one of these groups, and they and some other societies began to attack and kill Westerners and Chinese Christians. An international force put down the rebellion and captured Beijing.

The Boxer Rebellion

Tzu Hsi was born in 1835. At the age of 16, she went to live in the Forbidden City as a concubine (mistress) of Emperor Hsien Feng. Tzu Hsi gave birth to the emperor's only son. When the emperor died, his 6-year-old son Tung Chih came to the throne. Tzu Hsi shared the job of regent with Tsu An (the emperor's primary wife).

Tzu Hsi became known in the West as the empress dowager, and for 50 years she dominated politics in China. She was politically conservative and did not support modern ideas like trains or telegraphs. Tzu Hsi could be ruthless with her enemies, and there are many stories about poisonings and people being thrown down wells.

The empress dowager

Henry Pu Yi was born in 1906and became emperor in 1908.As emperor he was given thename Xuantong. When hewas 6, revolutionariesestablished a republicangovernment and forced theyoung emperor to abdicate.He remained in the Forbidden City until 1924, when he fledto a Japanese colony. After World War II, Pu Yi wasimprisoned in China. He was released from prison in 1959and spent the rest of his lifeas a gardener in Beijing.

The last emperor of China

Mixing old and new

The Great Wall of China was built over many centuries to keep barbarian invaders out. But in 1644, warriors from Manchuria breached the wall and ultimately conquered China. The Manchus established the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China for 267 years. During this time, Imperial China reached the height of its power and wealth.

exploring the Realms of history, Science, nature & technology

One of the reasons the Manchus were sosuccessful in their conquest of China wasthat they adopted many Chinese cultures and traditions. The government was based on the earlier Ming institution and they continued Confucianist court practices.

There were some differences between the old ways and the new. Only Manchus could hold the highestpositions. Manchus were not allowed to engage in trade or manual labor. Intermarriage between Manchus and the dominant population of Han Chinese was forbidden.

World of Wonder

Emperor Kangxi

During the mid-1800s, a series of rebellions threatened the Qing Dynasty. Economic stresses, combined with several military defeats to foreign powers, createdwidespread unrest. The Taiping Rebellion took place between 1850 and 1864. It isestimated that 20 million to 30 millionpeople died during this civil war. The revolt was finally crushed with rebuilt armies and help from Western countries that wanted the dynasty (and its unequal trading treaties) to survive.

In 1894 and 1895, China lost a war to Japan and was forced to give up Taiwan and recognize Japan's presence in Korea.In 1899, the United Statespersuaded other Western countries to accept an open door policy, which allowed all nations equal trading rights.